Posts Tagged ‘Father’
Tuesday, May 21st, 2013
Forgiven, May 21
To You I will cry, O LORD my Rock: do not be silent to me, lest, if You are silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit.
Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to You, when I lift up my hands toward Your Holy sanctuary.
Also do not take to heart everything people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you.
Psalm 28:1-2, Ecclesiastes 7:21, www.solascriptura.com
Father, we cry out, we make requests of You, we seek You in times of trouble. Help us O’God, to develop a balance between asking and praise. We often ask too often and praise too little. Yet, we know You hear all of our words and know all of our thoughts. Such knowledge is too wonderful for us. Where, O’God, would we be without You?
When Solomon said “don’t take to heart everything people say” he was reminding us that people sometimes say too much, more than they truly feel. Help us to speak less and to mean more when we do speak and to never say harmful things when they are better unsaid. And when people do say things that are critical, help us not take it to heart but to return kindness when it is not expected or deserved. That is what You have done for us Jesus. You have extended kindness that exceeds understanding when we were yet in our sin. Can we do less for others? In Jesus’ Holy name, we pray, amen.
Bruce Caldwell
The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064
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Tags: cursing, Father, Forgiven, God, Jesus, Lord, pit, Psalm 28:1-2, Solomon, supplications
Posted in Christianity, Forgiven, Religion, peace, wisdom | No Comments »
Monday, May 20th, 2013
Salvation, May 20
If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
I John 2:1-3, www.solascriptura.com
Father, we know there will be a trial on Judgment Day. This will be the day when the saints are separated from the sinners. Since we all have sinned and come short of Your glory Father, there is only one piece of evidence that can either convict us or deliver us to a heavenly destination. We either have been born again, experiencing a Spirit filled conversion that led to or leads to a new life in You Jesus, or we have not. If we have, Your word says “keeping the commandments” will be the evidence of our love.
Father, You have sent Jesus and our response to his offer of salvation makes him our Advocate. What a perfect scenario. We are on trial and the one with the power to convict steps up and says “not guilty”. It will be the encapsulating righteousness of the Messiah that will allow us to stand in Your Holy, perfect, eternally blissful presence.
Bruce Caldwell
The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064
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Tags: advocate, commandments, Father, Jesus Christ, know, propitiation, righteous, salvation, sins, world
Posted in Christianity, Forgiven, Hope, Law of God, faith, salvation | 16 Comments »
Monday, May 13th, 2013
Conscience, May 13
… I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing.
For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.
For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.
2 Corinthians 7:9-11, www.solascriptura.com
Father, You have taught us that humility and contrition precede repentance and now we see that it is accompanied by sorrow, genuine sorrow for our sins. This sorrow is not the sort of sorrow the world feels about having made mistakes but it is sorrow leading to repentance and to the joy of a changed heart.
You teach us that this sorrow leads to joy, a cleansing of the spirit, a clear conscience, a zeal to serve You and a sense of no longer being guilty, having been vindicated by You Jesus. Father, we are not always successful in forgiving ourselves for our sins. We tend to forget how much You suffered for our sins, taking them upon Yourself at the Cross.
Help us, this day, to know that our sin is as separate from us as the east is from the west, never to be remembered against us again. If You can, after much suffering, push our sins from Your sight, surely we can acknowledge and accept that cleansing.
The Scriptures say “east from west” because once you head east you will never be headed west unless you turn around and return to your sin. Not so, if You had said “north from south”, since if you go north long enough you will eventually be headed south, back to your sin. Thank You for the wisdom of Your Holy word. Keep us in it every day we pray. In Jesus Holy name, we pray, amen.
Bruce Caldwell
The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064
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Tags: contrition, Father, fear, Humility, Jesus, joy, repentance, sin, sorrow, zeal
Posted in Christianity, Humility, Inspirtation, Perseverance, Religion, peace, salvation | 1 Comment »
Saturday, May 11th, 2013
Prayer, May 11
God be merciful to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us.
That Your way may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.
Let the people praise You, O God; let all the people praise You.
…pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Psalm 67:3, 1Thessalonians 5:17-18, www.solascriptura.com
Father, when You shine Your light upon us You illuminate our hearts and You are truly a light unto our path. Help us never go forward in darkness, without You, Your counsel, and Your love. Father, You give us a clear path of service to you, that Your word might go throughout all the world. We praise You for equipping us to serve You. Help us to move beyond being spectators. Help us move onto the playing field!
We sometimes wonder how You can be so ever present. We know the word, “omnipresence”. Now help us realize how You can have a constant presence in our lives. All nature is a revelation of Your love and we sense Your presence in all that You have created and beyond that, we are accompanied by innumerable angels as we move about. The fact of Your omnipresence, in all things, humbles us and encourages us.
We are asked to pray without ceasing. Teach us this day how to implement that teaching. Help us include You in everything we do and think. It is Your will that we enjoy the fruits of Your Holy presence (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control), constantly. Our fleshly instincts take us in the opposite direction, too often. We seek to be like You, more and more. In Jesus Holy name, we pray, amen.
Bruce Caldwell
The Sola Scriptura Project, PO Box 302, Franklin TN 37064
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Tags: Christ, counsel, Father, gentleness, God, goodness, Holy, Jesus, joy, kindness, love, patience, peace, pray, Psalms 67:3, self-control, service
Posted in Christianity, Hope, Perseverance, Prayer, Religion | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, May 1st, 2013
Temple of God, May 1
…do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,
speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,
giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Ephesians 5:17-20, www.solascriptura.com
O’ God, we do pray for wisdom and discernment, we do pray for Your word to penetrate our hearts and minds. We do seek to fulfill your will for our lives.
Here we are taught that being out of control, whether it is from alcohol or drugs, leads to dissipation. Most of us have seen the ugly effects being drunk or spaced out. What we need Father, is to learn from what we see and then to rely on Your Spirit within us to overcome temptation and to present our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit.
Your admonition is completely positive when You tell us to speak to each other in psalms and spiritual songs, making melody in our heart, to You and to the world. When that happens, we simply give thanks to You, in the name of Jesus. What a perfectly natural response to joy, sent to us as a gift.
When disappointments come, and they will not cease to come until we are with You, we do not have joy for the pain, but we are able to have joy as we endure the pain by accessing Your peace and comfort. We are Your temple, You will deliver us; of that we are certain. We pray for Your counsel in our lives in Jesus’ name, amen.
Bruce Caldwell
The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064
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Tags: dissipation, drunk, Father, heart, hymns, Jesus, Lord, melody, singing, songs, Spirit, Temple, understand, unwise, wine
Posted in Christianity, Forgiven, Holy Spirit, Perseverance, Prayer, faith | 8 Comments »
Monday, April 22nd, 2013
Fidelity, April 22
…no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.
Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.
Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?
Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring can yield both salt water and fresh.
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.
James 3:8-13, www.solascriptura.com
Father, we know that to be faithful to You, we should not be inconsistent in our approach to others. You have taught us that all people are created in Your image. Help us look upon people as Your potential servants, some of whom are called early in life and some later.
We see, Father, that a fig tree does not bear olives. Are there times, Father, that we claim to be Your children and then openly sin against You and others? Father, we pray for fidelity, for consistency in our daily walk. Help us never be hypocritical, bringing shame to ourselves, when we deeply want to be as You, Jesus.
Help us be an encourager, not saying in one breath that we love You and in the next breath, speak despairingly of men. Give us the gift of fidelity, one in which our love for You isn’t mixed with unloving actions towards others. We pray in Jesus’ name, amen.
Bruce Caldwell
The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064
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Tags: bitter, bless, curse, deadly, evil, Father, fidelity, fig, God, meekness, olive, poison, salt water, spring, tame, tongue, unruly, water, wisdom
Posted in Christianity, Fidelity, Law of God, Perseverance, wisdom | 10 Comments »
Sunday, April 21st, 2013
Industriousness, April 21
“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
”Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
”You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.
”No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.
”You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.
John 15:12-16, www.solascriptura.com
Father, You have taught us that the two greatest commandments are to love You with all our heart, mind and soul and to love our neighbors as ourselves. It seems Father, that all Christians find the first commandment completely clear and that the command to love our neighbors, though clear, is much more challenging. Help us understand that the kind of love we should have for each other is as the love You have for us.
Father, not many of us have the depth of love for others that we have for You. Help us see that our own imperfections make it difficult at times for others to love us. Then help us see that the imperfections in our acquaintances and friends are not only to be expected (and they are not very different from our own) but they are to be forgiven as You have forgiven us.
Father, You say… bear fruit! We thank you for defining the fruits of the Spirit that should characterize our lives; love, joy, peace, Patience, Kindness, Gentleness, Faithfulness, Goodness and Self control (Use the acronym PKG FGS, Patience, Kindness and so on as a mnemonic device, preceded by love, joy, and peace, so we can memorize the fruits of the Spirit). Then, help us manifest our love for You by loving our neighbors in a way that is impossible without Your Spirit in us. In Jesus Holy name, we pray, amen.
Bruce Caldwell
The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064
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Tags: choose, commandment, Father, fruit, Industriousness, John 15:12-16, love, master, servants
Posted in God's Children, God's Gift, Industriousness | 9 Comments »
Tuesday, April 16th, 2013
Mind of Christ, April 16
Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.
And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.
These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you.
But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.
And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.
I John 2:24-28, www.solascriptura.com
Father, You tell us that “if” what we heard from the beginning, the new covenant written on our hearts, abides in us, You teach us all things. Father, let not our hearts be blinded by sinful actions and hardened for eternity. We pray that You do abide in us in a life-changing way and that Your presence, every moment, is a source of strength and light.
We know Father, that where Light abides, Your Light, there is no darkness. Help us today to turn to the Light in us, to seek to have You illuminate our paths and to comfort us in the midst of life’s inevitable trials. In Your Holy name we pray, amen.
Bruce Caldwell
The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064
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Tags: ashamed, children, deceive, eternal, Father, lie, Mind of Christ, Son, teach, true
Posted in Christianity, God's Children, Law of God, Mind of Christ, Providence of God, salvation | 9 Comments »
Thursday, April 11th, 2013
God’s Children, April 11
My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.
He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.
I John 2:1-6;12, www.solascriptura.com
Father, we come to You, cleansed of our sin because Jesus, our Advocate, has made it all possible. We know there is no other way to be in Your presence except at the nomination of ourselves by Jesus.
Our Advocate, the One who appeals to You, Himself, paid the price for our sins. This is true of no one else, therefore all judgment has been assigned to Jesus. We can boldly enter into Your presence because our faith is based on the gift of the Holy Spirit, the gift of a new heart and a completely new start.
The Apostle John speaks plainly about obedience. “He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” Keeping Your commandments is not easy. We know our walk with You is a little “uphill” but each day of obedience makes the next day’s hill, easier. John says, “walk just as He walked.” That is our prayer today. Help us be more like you every day. We pray in Jesus’ name, amen.
Bruce Caldwell
The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064
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Tags: advocate, children, commandments, Father, Jesus, obedience, uphill
Posted in Christianity, Courage, Forgiven, God's Children, Hope, Perseverance, faith | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013
Providence of God, April 2
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,
that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,
whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.
Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you…
Peter 1:3-10, www.solascriptura.com
Father, You have told us that you have reserved a place for us in heaven. We do not know a lot about heaven, but this we know. It will be a place of perfection, in You, reserved for us because of Your grace and mercy and the enabling atonement of Jesus.
You called us and we responded. We choose righteousness over evil, joy over depression and love over hate. Following You is so obviously right. You have taught us that we have a physical self that will perish and a spiritual self that will live forever.
Help us not to get too caught up in nurturing the physical while casually or seldom seeking Your Spirit to witness afresh, every day, to our spirit. In Jesus Holy name, we pray, amen.
Bruce Caldwell
The Sola Scriptura Project P.O.Box 302 Franklin TN 37064
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Tags: blessed, Christ, dead, faith, Father, God, grieved, Heaven, honor, Hope, incorruptible, inheritance, Jesus, Lord, love, mercy, perishes, praise, prophets, Providence, resurrection, salvation, tested, undefiled
Posted in Christianity, God's Children, God's Gift, Perseverance, Providence of God, Religion, faith | 77 Comments »